In a development that has triggered political sparring, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was invited to the official state dinner hosted in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, while Leaders of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were not extended invitations.

This comes a day after Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi alleged the Modi government is going against “tradition” and doesn’t want him or a representative of the Opposition to meet Vladimir Putin because of its “insecurity”.

Putin is on a two-day visit to India for annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday confirmed that both Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Kharge, his counterpart in the R

See Full Page